In the 24 hours after Greg Schiano withdrew his name from consideration for the Rutgers football coaching vacancy, the deal was left for dead. In the immediate aftermath, as Rutgers moved to its Plan B coaching candidates, people with knowledge of the talks, asking for anonymity, pointed to Schiano’s demands as reasons an agreement couldn’t be reached:

He wanted hundreds of millions of dollars committed to new football facilities.

And then, 24 hours after the talks collapsed, former Gov. Chris Christieweighed in. Speaking at a lawyers conference in Iselin last Monday, Christie ripped Schiano for demanding a $4 million-a-year salary over eight years, a $25.2 million payout if he were fired without cause and use of that private jet.

“When a coach is demanding an eight-year guarantee from a public institution and thirty four million dollars, and then says on top of it ‘I want private air travel for me and my family for the entire eight years’ ... I’m sorry," Christie said. “He’s not Bear Bryant, he’s not Urban Meyer. He’s an unemployed football coach who now wants the taxpayers of the state of New Jersey to pay for his private air travel.”

Christie said there probably was a hidden reason for those demands: Schiano was pricing himself out of the job — intentionally.

“As somebody sitting on the outside and knowing how this stuff works," Christie said, “here’s what I think: I don’t think he wanted the job."

It didn’t take long for word to get back to Schiano.

“(Schiano) was pissed," state Sen. Richard Codey, D-Essex, said “Oh, God, was he pissed.’’

That anger, people close to Schiano said, could’ve been his breaking point.

“After that (Christie statement) happened," one person familiar with Schiano’s actions told NJ Advance Media, “Greg made it his quest to get that (Rutgers) job."

Several people close to the negotiations believe Christie’s insinuation that Schiano wasn’t all-in served as the catalyst to get the deal done, and in the wee hours Sunday morning — after Rutgers completed a 2-10 season with a loss to Penn State — Schiano agreed to a revised deal to return as coach the Scarlet Knights. Terms of the contract have not been made public, but NJ Advance Media has learned that a major sticking point was settled when both sides agreed that half of the $150 million of facilities money would have to be raised privately.

Hours after the deal was announced, Christie told NJ Advance Media his comments “were intended to be honest and constructive — not petty and destructive.’’

“My statements were not only accurate, but were intended to remind both sides that there was a lot to lose for everyone, not just Rutgers, as was being depicted in the media at that time," Christie said. “For me, sitting on the sidelines on matters important to New Jersey is not leadership. To the extent that some people believe that my comments were a catalyst for renewed talks, I am gratified they had their intended effect."

NJ Advance Media interviewed seven people with insight into the roller-coaster negotiations — a state official, two former New Jersey governors (Christie and Codey), two Rutgers officials and two people familiar with Schiano’s side of the negotiations. The state official, Rutgers officials and people close to Schiano spoke on the condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to speak for Schiano or the university.

Rutgers is expected to introduce Schiano at a news conference Tuesday after the university’s Board of Governors votes to approve his eight-year contract.

“There are many people to thank for where we are today, particularly Coach Schiano and his team, as well as everyone here at Rutgers,’’ Rutgers athletics director Pat Hobbs said Sunday in a statement. “They all played important roles in bringing these complex negotiations to a close.’’

***

For two days after Rutgers’ nearly three-week negotiations with Schiano fell apart, Hobbs went out in search for Plan B options. According to two Rutgers officials, Hobbs spoke with the representatives of Michigan defensive assistant Anthony Campanile, Ohio State co-defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley, New England Patriots defensive line coach Bret Bielema and Steve Addazio (who was fired Sunday as Boston College head coach after a 6-6 season).

Alabama assistant Butch Jones, the only other known candidate to formally interview during the search, remained an option, the Rutgers official said.

“Pat was doing his due diligence, going about the search in the right way"’ one Rutgers official said. “He thought he owed it to the team to have a new coach in place right after the season and, to be honest, he thought it was over with (Schiano)."

“The public outcry and the pressure from donors — that’s what got this done"’ a former Rutgers official said. “I don’t believe (Rutgers) ever expected it. And you also have to credit Greg’s patience in not saying, ‘I’m out of here.’"

Added Codey: “I’m not going to say (Christie’s statement) was the sole factor. I think the support from people who care about Rutgers University, that was huge. They were enraged."

The screaming was heard in Trenton, with several state lawmakers, including Codey, calling on Rutgers to re-engage with Schiano.

That prompted Gov. Phil Murphy to act. Murphy spoke with Schiano multiple times last week, according to a state official familiar with the talks. Murphy’s involvement helped put the negotiations back together and keep momentum going, the official said.

The governor’s focus was not on Schiano, but on making sure Rutgers has a competitive program in the best interest of the school and New Jersey, according to the official.

After news of the deal broke, Murphy called the Schiano hire “important for the Rutgers community." The governor added that being competitive in the Big Ten is “a point of New Jersey pride."

"We have been committed to that from moment one,” Murphy said.

***

As New Jerseyans were planning their Thanksgiving meals, top Rutgers officials were preparing to get back to the drawing board with Schiano. One Rutgers official credited Hobbs and Greg Brown, who chairs the Board of Governors’ athletics subcommittee, for re-engaging with Schiano and his representatives on Wednesday afternoon.

“We all know Pat took a lot of heat," the Rutgers official said. “But he deserves credit for reviving this."

When both sides resumed talking, it didn’t take long for the negotiations to gain momentum. They negotiated through Thanksgiving, and concessions were made by both sides on the sticking points.

An eight-year deal worth $32 million was agreed to Friday, according to two people familiar with the negotiations, and the jet travel would be financed privately. But the last hurdle remained: Schiano’s demand to get out of his contract if Rutgers didn’t meet his demands for a new Field House and football-only facility by July 2023. Those facilities could cost an estimated $150 million, and Rutgers, already squeezed by recently built sports facilities, had winced originally.

Half, both sides agreed, would have to be funded privately for Rutgers to proceed with any building plans.

By Saturday morning, an unsigned Memorandum Of Agreement was in the hands of Schiano’s representatives and Rutgers’ lawyers, the two people familiar with the negotiations said.

Shortly after midnight on Sunday, Dec. 1, Schiano signed it. The contract is now in the hands of the university’s Board of Governors, a 14-person group that will likely rubber-stamp a resolution to approve the deal in a meeting Tuesday morning.

“It wouldn’t be appropriate to prejudge any action that the Board of Governors may take," Hobbs said in a statement on Sunday. “But I believe today that Rutgers Football is on the path to greatness."

***

Eight years after he left Piscataway for the NFL’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Schiano is taking over a Rutgers team that has posted a 7-45 record since joining the Big Ten in 2014.

In many ways, the task of rebuilding a program currently riding a 21-game Big Ten losing streak figures to be a more daunting task than the job he inherited in 2000. But people close to Schiano believe he can do it again.

“I think he’s up to the challenge because this is truly home for him,’’ said quarterback Ryan Hart, who helped lead the Scarlet Knights to their first bowl game in 27 years in 2005 under Schiano. “I think he feels the love and support from his former players and the fan base. And there’s a bigger cause than restoring the football program. It’s more about restoring the pride of New Jersey.’’

Christie, meanwhile, praised both sides for getting the deal done.

“I am, like most New Jerseyans, excited that he is coming home and hopeful he can bring Rutgers football to a new level in the Big Ten," Christie said. “In my time as governor, I vocally supported Coach Schiano and still do today.”

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